AUTHOR

Gary Golio

Strange Fruit: Billy Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song

Location: Enoch Pratt Free Library Children's Stage

.Gary Golio came to Earth many years ago disguised as a baby human. At an early age, he demonstrated unusual powers (like the ability to capture spiders with his bare hands), and began searching for his mission in life. As a boy, he created all sorts of electronic gadgets to deliver shocks and disrupt TV sets, and spent a lot of time imitating his favorite comic book superheroes--Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Dr. Strange--before realizing that he was meant to be an artist.

After graduating from a university arts program, he made his living for many years as a fine artist, selling landscape paintings and working in museums. Later on, he went back to school for a Master's degree in social work, and has since served as a therapist for children and teens with addiction problems. His wife, Susanna Reich, is also the author of many award-winning books.